Pittsburgh Organizing Group, often referred to as ''POG'', was a

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsyl ...

-based

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessari ...

organization concerned with

anti-militarism Antimilitarism (also spelt anti-militarism) is a doctrine that opposes war, relying heavily on a critical theory of imperialism and was an explicit goal of the First and Second International. Whereas pacifism is the doctrine that disputes (espe ...

social and economic justice Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

, labor solidarity and

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...

issues locally, nationally, and internationally. POG was formed in 2002, and since then it has been responsible for the most persistent local

protests against the Iraq War Beginning in late 2002, and continuing after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, large-scale protests against the Iraq War were held in many cities worldwide, often coordinated to occur simultaneously around the world. After the biggest series of demo ...

Marty Levine. January 18, 2007.
Targeting "Modern Bullet Factory," POG to Block CMU Building
''Pittsburgh City Paper''. Retrieved August 26, 2007. and claims to be one of the largest radical groups in Pittsburgh. The group has organized

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...

s, pickets,

vigil A vigil, from the Latin ''vigilia'' meaning ''wakefulness'' (Greek: ''pannychis'', or ''agrypnia'' ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word ''vigilia'' has become genera ...

direct action Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to othe ...

street theatre Street theatre is a form of theatrical performance and presentation in outdoor public spaces without a specific paying audience. These spaces can be anywhere, including shopping centres, car parks, recreational reserves, college or univers ...

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variet ...

teach-in A teach-in is similar to a general educational forum on any complicated issue, usually an issue involving current political affairs. The main difference between a teach-in and a seminar is the refusal to limit the discussion to a specific time fr ...

conferences A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

, and rallies. Some of its events have been overtly confrontational and disruptive. More than 122 people have been arrested at POG organized direct actions,Lori Shontz. March 23, 2003
Protesters' Arrests end police peace
''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette''. Retrieved August 26, 2007. and some events have involved direct confrontation with the police.Pohla Smith. August 22, 2005
Anti-war protesters fault city police: Group calls for investigation of use of stun guns, pepper spray
''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette''. Retrieved August 26, 2007. POG is an affiliate group of the Northeast Anarchist Network. The group opposes the way the American

justice system The contemporary national legal systems are generally based on one of four basic systems: civil law, common law, statutory law, religious law or combinations of these. However, the legal system of each country is shaped by its unique history an ...

works, and it chooses to settle what would normally be criminal cases without involving law enforcement. However, the group does accept the use of the court system against the state in some circumstances.

Major protest actions

According to the group, its first project was organizing a trip to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

for the 2002 annual meeting of the IMF and World Bank. On September 1, POG held its first public event, a

in preparation for the fall meetings of IMF and World Bank in Washington DC. In October, POG cosponsored a workshop to teach demonstrators nonviolent protest and

civil disobedience Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders or commands of a government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a stat ...

tactics as well as methods for protecting themselves and others at protests. The group's first major action was a trip to Washington, D.C. for the 2002 annual meeting of the IMF and World Bank. The group participated in a planned "People's Strike", an attempt by the Washington, D.C. Anti-Capitalist Convergence to shut down the city. The arrest of over 400 protesters in

Pershing Park The National World War I Memorial is a national memorial commemorating the service rendered by members of the United States Armed Forces in World War I. The 2015 National Defense Authorization Act authorized the World War I Centennial Commiss ...

resulted in a class action lawsuit. In the lead-up to the war with Iraq, POG joined with the Thomas Merton Center of Pittsburgh to organize a “regional convergence against war” on January 24 to 26, 2003.Lori Shontz. January 22, 2003.
Anti-War Protesters Converging here
''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette''. Retrieved August 26, 2007. The convergence included three days of protests, forums, teach-ins, and civil disobedience. 2,500 people marched in a POG protest on January 25, making the event the largest anti-war protest in Pittsburgh in at least 30 years.Lori Shontz. January 26, 2003.
Marchers' Message: Give Peace A Chance
''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette''. Retrieved August 26, 2007. In 2004, the group organized a black bloc in Pittsburgh to protest a visit by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

.Joe Fahy. April 20, 2004.
6 Arrested in Bush Protest
''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette''. Retrieved August 26, 2007. In April 2005, POG began a campaign to counter military recruitment in Pittsburgh when they blocked off an

Army Reserve A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...

recruiting table in

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

's student union for 45 minutes during the lunchtime rush.Gabrielle Banks. April 27, 2005
Protesters target U.S. Army Recruiting at CMU
''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette''. Retrieved August 27, 2007. On August 20, 2005, between 30 and 50 POG demonstrators marched to protest a military recruitment center in

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

and attempt to close it for the day.August 21, 2005
3 arrested in anti-war protest here.
''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette''. Retrieved August 27, 2007. Six people were arrested, a

taser A taser is an electroshock weapon used to incapacitate people, allowing them to be approached and handled in an unresisting and thus safe manner. It is sold by Axon (company), Axon, formerly TASER International. It fires two small barbed d ...

was used on one woman, and another was bitten by a police dog. The events led to a controversy over the actions of demonstrators and the Pittsburgh police. This controversy led to hearings before Pittsburgh City Council, calls for a moratorium on the use of

s at protests, criticism of police conduct by local politicians, and a police review board staffed by citizens.Rich Lord. September 15, 2005.
City Council questions police policies on use of stun guns
''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette''. Retrieved August 27, 2007. The next week, POG organized another march at the same recruiting station to protest both the military recruitment and the alleged mistreatment of protesters by police. On January 13, 2007, POG announced that it planned to barricade the entrances to the

National Robotics Engineering Center The National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) is an operating unit within the Robotics Institute (RI) of Carnegie Mellon University. NREC works closely with government and industry clients to apply robotic technologies to real-world processes ...

(NREC). On March 2, 2007, POG members blockaded the Center, a venture of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) that receives tens of millions of dollars from

the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metonym ...

and has become a world leader in development of

robotics Robotics is an interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist human ...

used in warfare. Protesters blocked access to the center by locking their arms together in

PVC pipe Plastic pipe is a tubular section, or hollow cylinder, made of plastic. It is usually, but not necessarily, of circular cross-section, used mainly to convey substances which can flow—liquids and gases (fluids), slurries, powders and masses of sm ...

, hanging suspended from poles rigged into a tripod, or locking themselves to the gate.Rob Amen. March 3, 2007.
14 Protesters Arrested at CMU Robotics Center
''Pittsburgh Tribune-Review''. Retrieved August 26, 2007. The protest resulted in 14 arrests. The group claimed victory. Another confrontation occurred between POG demonstrators and police in an April 3, 2007 POG protest outside a Marines recruiting center.Marty Levine. April 12, 2007
Police Reaction: Picketers claim aggressive officer made protest not so peaceful.
''Pittsburgh City Paper''. Retrieved August 27, 2007. Protesters and unaffiliated witnesses claimed that a police officer grabbed a demonstrator by the throat. The event was investigated by the city's Citizen Police Review Board. The Marine recruiting center was later vandalized that night, to include smashing of windows and anti-war slogans spray painted in large letters on the buildin

though POG denied any involvemen

The military recruitment center protests are part of a "counter-recruitment" strategy by the group aimed at lowering the numbers of people who enlist.Marty Levine. January 4, 200
War Milestone Marked by Anti-War Groups.
''Pittsburgh City Paper''. Retrieved August 28, 2007. By January 2007, the group had organized 45 protests at military recruiting stations. On August 8, 2007, POG announced plans to hold a camp-out and fasting, fast for 26 days outside the main military recruiting station in Oakland in protest of the war in Iraq. POG asked the city for a permit, and received one but only for a 24 hours. The event kicked off as scheduled on September 4, 2007, and on September 4, POG announced that they would continue without a permit. In September 2007, the

ACLU The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". ...

filed a

First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

lawsuit against the city of Pittsburgh on behalf of POG, arguing that members' rights to protest outside an Army recruiting office had been violated when they were cited for blocking a sidewalk during the protests. The city and the group came to an agreement that protesters would occupy only certain parts of the sidewalk for the rest of September. The city agreed to allow protesters to lie down on the section of the Forbes Avenue sidewalk they had occupied, and to set up chairs and sleeping bags as long as the sidewalk was not obstructed. The agreement also dropped the restraining order that the POG had filed against the Pittsburgh City Police on September 18, 2007. In the spring of 2008, POG officially became an

group and brought several anarchist speakers to Pittsburg

including

Cindy Milstein Cindy Milstein is an American anarchist activist based in Brooklyn. They are an Institute for Anarchist Studies board member. They have also been involved with the Institute for Social Ecology, and are currently a board member with the Institu ...

, George Sossenko,

Ashanti Alston Ashanti Omowali Alston (born 1954) is an anarchist activist, speaker, writer, and former member of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army. From 1974 to 1985, he spent time in prison for bank robbery, which caused him to become further ...

and

Wayne Price Wayne Price is a former professional strongman competitor from South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along ...

. On July 19, 2011 POG officially disbandedLetting Go and Moving On. 2011-07-19

''Steel City Revolt''. Retrieved 2011-07-19. citing that ''"

hey Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...

have not been a means through which to effectively respond to the priorities individual members have often articulated is indicative of the fact we lack the common ground required to collectively organize."''

References

External links

Steel City Revolt
The official website of the now defunct Pittsburgh Organizing Group *Infoshop News. August 9, 2007
Pittsburgh: Hunger-strike planned to oppose military recruitment
*Indypgh.org.
Pittsburgh Indymedia Coverage of People's Strike

Northeast Anarchist Network
{{Pittsburgh 2002 establishments in Pennsylvania Anti–Iraq War groups Peace organizations based in the United States Defunct anarchist organizations in North America Organizations based in Pittsburgh 2011 disestablishments in Pennsylvania